1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicles having a drive train for rotating an assembly, such as a cutter drum assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicles having rotatable cutter drums for cutting and pulverizing a roadway or roadbed are well known in the art. These vehicles may be used to break up a wide variety of materials ranging from soil to hard pavement or rock. When used to break up materials like rock and pavement in particular, the cutter drum and its drive train may be subjected to substantial shock.
One way to protect the cutter and cutter drive is to put a yoke with shear pins in the drive train. The shear pins are designed to break before torsional shock reaches a level which can damage the components of the cutter and cutter drive train. Shearing helps protect the equipment, but puts the vehicle out of operation until the sheared-off yoke is replaced.
Since shearing results in down-time for the vehicle, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate shearing. Any reduction in the occurrence of shearing, however, should be accomplished without exposing the vehicle to greater risk of damage from torsional stress.